Police advised pride organizers to abandon the march through the center of Kiev just 30 minutes before it was due to start, claiming 500 ultra-right football hooligans were en route to the rally point with the intention of preventing the event from going ahead.

Two activists were beaten up and tear gassed by a dozen youths in central Kiev after those already gathered for the march were evacuated with police escort.

Human rights group Amnesty International called on Ukranian authorities to take action to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and ensure they are able to exercise their human rights without fear of attacks.

Max Tucker, Ukraine campaigner at Amnesty International, said: ‘It has been clear from the start that the Kiev police department did not want this march to go ahead.

‘Their reluctance to commit to the event and to put adequate security measures in place to protect demonstrators left organisers fearing for their safety.’

According to Amnesty, senior Kiev police official had previously told pride organizers that he was not prepared to put his officers in harm’s way for the LGBT community.

Max Tucker added: ‘The Kiev authorities and police must work harder to ensure next year pride participants can feel confident they will be protected.’